The cancer awareness assessment project: A small‑scale survey across people with different levels of education in Mysore, India

Aim: To assess the cancer awareness in respondents, their knowledge about the nature of cancer as a disease, its diagnosis and treatment, warning signs, environmental risk factors and conceptions of how risk factors work, as well as willingness to participate in screening programs if available. Methodology: Cancer awareness is an increasingly important issue in light of increasing incidence and associated healthcare costs, as well as the presence of risk management strategies. In this study, 453 people, drawn from several educational institutes/workplaces, were surveyed with respect to cancer awareness. The test sample included pre university students, undergraduates, and postgraduate students/workers. We checked for variations in cancer awareness across multiple educational levels to determine whether there was variation in levels of cancer awareness across educational classes. Results: We found that confidence in perception of cancer awareness, and awareness itself, was not very high, and only postgraduates had a nuanced appreciation of some of the complexities of cancer epidemiology, and even then only moderately. Conclusion: The conclusions of the study point towards the need for optimal policymaking in the development of cancer awareness in the population.